Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 29,081 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,464,633 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 29,081 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $384,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,401 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,231,548,000 after buying an additional 727,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $2,150,268,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,499,098,000 after buying an additional 3,394,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,467,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,167,221,000 after buying an additional 1,614,355 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy and $180 price target, signaling analyst confidence and implying ~23% upside from recent levels. This provides fresh institutional buy-side interest. Jefferies Starts Gilead Sciences at Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~15.7% in February to ~18.45M shares (1.5% of float), lowering the potential for short-squeeze volatility and suggesting fewer immediate bearish bets against the stock. Market data on GILD short interest
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwind: commentators including Josh Brown (Ritholtz) are bullish on large-cap biotech as a growth segment less prone to disruption, which supports investor appetite for Gilead as a defensive growth name within biotech. Josh Brown: Biotech growth stocks immune to disruption risk
• Positive Sentiment: Market opportunity: industry reports point to expansion in CD19-targeted therapies and autoimmune/oncology pipelines, which underpins the strategic rationale for Gilead’s moves to build out oncology/CAR-T capabilities. CD19 Inhibitors Market to Witness Significant Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor outreach: Gilead presented at the Barclays and Leerink healthcare conferences (transcripts available); these investor events provide detail but have not produced a clear immediate market reaction. Barclays conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading: coverage roundup and prior-day outperformance show momentum, but the move may invite short-term profit-taking. Gilead Outperforms Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition concern: Gilead agreed to buy Arcellx for up to $7.8B at roughly a 79% premium to the pre-deal price — strategic for oncology/CAR-T scale but potentially dilutive/expensive in the near term, which can pressure sentiment and trigger selling from valuation-conscious investors. Gilead to Acquire Arcellx, Inc. for Up to $7.8 billion

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 115,640 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $15,611,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,504,230. This trade represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total transaction of $4,324,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 120,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,577,278.72. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 309,280 shares of company stock valued at $43,935,470 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.62.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $146.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.44. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.37 and a 12-month high of $157.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.68%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.